JPH07311834A - Image processor and its aid - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the comparison of different images which are photographed in different times and by different image diagnostic equipments by performing easily and accurately the position matching between those photographed images without giving any burden to a testee. CONSTITUTION:A feature point position detecting part 5a detects the positions of feature points, and an image A is read out of a projected image storage part 3c of an image storage part 3 as a standard image and then shown at an image display part 7 as an image before registering. Then, an image B is read out of the part 3c as a reference image and shown at the part 7 as an image before registering. The coordinates of all of marks put on both images A and B are calculated, and a coordinate transformation part 5b of an image processing part 5 calculates a transformation matrix to secure the coincidence between the coordinates systems of both images. Then, the coordinates of the reference image are transformed into those of the standard image based on the transformation matrix, and the standard image and the reference image that have undergone the coordinate transformation are shown by the part 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to, for example, an X-ray CT apparatus,
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI; Magnetic Res)
onance Imaging), PET (Posit)
ron emission CT), SPECT (Si
image processing device that performs image processing based on image information obtained from various devices such as a nuclear medicine device (e.g., single photon emission CT), an ultrasonic device, an X-ray device, etc., and facilitates observation and comparison between a plurality of images. And its aids.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, in plastic surgery, surgery for moving a deformed bone is performed for diseases such as deformation of the skull. In this operation, CT imaging is performed before the operation, the position of the deformed bone is measured on this image, a surgical plan is determined by obtaining the amount of movement of the bone, and CT imaging is performed again after the operation. The treatment effect is judged by comparing with the image.

In order to correctly compare the preoperative and postoperative positions of bones in such an operation, it is necessary that the preoperative and postoperative CT images are taken at the same body position and the same position. However, conventionally, since the photographer only adjusts the positions of the eyes and ears by visual measurement, it is difficult and skillful to perform accurate comparative evaluation before and after surgery.

Further, there is a demand not only in the field of plastic surgery but also in orthopedics, brain surgery, etc., in which it is desired to observe changes over time (on an image) of the same subject. Also,
There is also a demand to simultaneously perform morphological diagnosis and functional diagnosis by combining images taken by different image diagnostic apparatuses of the same subject, for example, CT images and SPECT images. In any case, alignment of different types of images is necessary.

Conventionally, in order to align the positions of the images, a mark is attached to the subject at the time of photographing, or in the case of treatment with a gamma knife, the frame is screwed into the skull, but the images to be compared within a short period of time. It's good for shooting, but if you're going for a long time, you can't stick the marks in the same place or leave the frame screwed in. Also, even if you stick the mark,
Since it is attached from above the skin, it cannot be fixed completely, and there is a problem that accurate positioning cannot be performed.

[0006]

As described above, in the prior art, when comparing images taken at different photographing times, it is troublesome to search for the same target image and perform alignment. Furthermore, when comparing images taken using different types of image diagnostic equipment, the image representation may be completely different depending on the equipment, so sufficient caution and skill were required. Furthermore, there is a problem that alignment with high accuracy is difficult and a subject is burdened with alignment using a frame.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and aligns images taken by different types of image diagnostic equipment at the time of image pickup without imposing a burden on a subject, and these can be easily operated. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image processing apparatus and an auxiliary tool thereof that enable observation, comparison, and various measurements between images, and that can obtain information effective for image diagnosis.

[0008]

The first invention of the present application is a feature point extracting means for extracting feature points set for an object from an input image of the object, and extraction by the feature point extracting means. The gist of the present invention is to have an image processing unit that performs image processing between a plurality of images based on the determined feature points.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the image processing means according to claim 1 uses the feature points extracted by the feature point extracting means for each of the input images as a reference, and the The point is to make the coordinates the same.

Desirably, as an image storage unit for storing image data from an image diagnostic device for projecting a diagnostic image and outputting image data, and a display unit for displaying the image data read from the image storage unit. Image display unit, an input unit as an input unit for inputting an image processing designation signal, and a reference image and a reference image read from the image storage unit and displayed on the image display unit, which have different shooting times or different shooting devices. On the other hand, the position of the feature point that can be specified by the mark by the assisting tool attached to the subject at the time of projection in advance, or the anatomical findings of the subject is specified by the input signal from the input unit, and the reference image is displayed. And an image processing unit for converting the coordinates so that the coordinates of the characteristic points are coincident with each other and outputting the converted image so that the characteristic points have the same position, and the respective units are controlled. May and a system controller.

Further, the reference image converted by the image processing means and the standard image read from the image storage section are simultaneously displayed on the image display section, and the same coordinates designated by the input section are displayed on the reference image and the standard image. It is better to display the mark.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the image processing means according to the first and second aspects uses the feature points of a plurality of images extracted by the feature point extracting means for each input image as a reference. The gist is to output a composite image obtained by superimposing the plurality of images. For example, the reference image converted by the image processing unit and the standard image read from the image storage unit are superimposed and displayed on the image display unit.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the image processing means according to the first and second aspects uses the feature points of a plurality of images extracted by the feature point extracting means for each input image as a reference. The gist is to output the obtained difference between the plurality of images as a difference image.

Preferably, for the reference image converted by the image processing means and the standard image read from the image storage unit,
By operating the input unit, a differential processing designation signal is input to the system controller, and the image data of the reference image and the image data of the standard image converted by the control of the system controller are differentiated by the image processing means. The difference image may be displayed on the image display unit based on the difference result.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a display means capable of displaying an image of an inputted subject and an image output from the image processing means according to claims 1 and 2 simultaneously or separately, and this display means. The gist of the present invention is to include an input means for designating an arbitrary point on the image displayed on the screen and a computing means for computing a distance and an angle between a plurality of points designated by the input means.

Preferably, the coordinate position of the point, the distance from the reference point, and the angle from the reference plane are specified by operating the input unit to specify the point with respect to the reference image and the reference image converted by the image processing means. Is calculated by the image processing means, and the processing result may be displayed on the image display unit. Further, the display means may display images obtained by different models or times and images output from the image processing means, respectively, and appropriately combine them to display them on the same screen so that they can be simultaneously compared. It is better to unify the coordinate system of the display image so that the actual size and shape can be easily grasped.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is that the feature points extracted by the feature point extracting means are formed by an auxiliary tool attached to the subject at the time of photographing or an anatomical feature point of the subject. And

A seventh aspect of the invention of the present application is to provide an identification means capable of performing identification on an image obtained by photographing and the like, and to support the identification means and attach the identification means to a subject easily in a removable manner. The gist is to have a mounting means.

Preferably, the assisting tool is a mounting means for fixing it to a part of the body of the subject, and a mark material, for example, made of a material which is supported by the mounting means and which can be identified on the projected image. And good.

The eighth invention of the present application is summarized in that the identifying means according to claim 7 is exchangeably supported with respect to the mounting means, and is appropriately exchanged according to a photographing device for obtaining the image. .

In a ninth aspect of the present invention, the identification means according to the seventh aspect is that the granules having ceramic, polyvinyl alcohol, or radioisotope reagent as a constituent element are supported by the mounting means via a holding body. And

Preferably, the mark material of the auxiliary tool is exchangeable and supported by the mounting means, and it is possible to select and attach from a plurality of different substances according to the photographing device.

The tenth invention of the present application is summarized in that the mounting means according to the seventh aspect is a mouthpiece prepared according to the tooth profile of the subject.

[0024]

In the image processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the feature point extracting means extracts the feature points set for the subject from the input image of the subject, and the extracted feature points are used as a reference. Then, the image processing means performs image processing between a plurality of images.

The image processing means of the image processing apparatus of the second invention of the present application sets, for example, a plurality of feature points on the basis of the feature points extracted by the feature point extracting means for each image of the inputted subject. Then, based on the distance and angle between these characteristic points, coordinate conversion by enlargement, reduction, rotation (affine transformation), etc. is performed, and the coordinates in a plurality of images in the same coordinate system are made the same. For example, the reference image converted by the image processing unit and the standard image read from the image storage unit are simultaneously displayed on the image display unit so that the marks designated by the input unit on the reference image and the standard image have the same coordinates. To facilitate observation and comparison between images.

For example, with respect to a standard image and a reference image which are read from the image storage section and displayed on the image display section at different photographing times or photographing apparatuses, a mark by an auxiliary tool previously attached to the subject at the time of projection, or The position of the anatomical feature point of the subject is designated by an input signal from the input unit, and the image processing means performs coordinate conversion so that the coordinates of the mark or the anatomical feature point match the reference image. Then, the images that have been converted so that the marks or anatomical feature points are in the same position are output, and observation and comparison between images can be performed by simple operations such as simply operating the input unit. It can be easily performed.

The image processing means of the image processing apparatus of the third invention of the present application uses the feature points of the plurality of images extracted by the feature point extracting means for each image of the input subject as a reference for superposition. A composite image obtained by superimposing the plurality of images is output. For example, by superimposing the reference image converted by the image processing unit and the standard image read from the image storage unit and displaying them on the image display unit, the characteristic images obtained by different models are more suitable for observation. It is possible to easily compare the images.

The image processing means of the image processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is used when performing the difference calculation on the feature points of the plurality of images extracted by the feature point extracting means for each image of the input subject. The difference between the plurality of images is obtained using the reference, and the result of this calculation is output as the difference image. For example, by operating the input unit, the designation signal of the difference processing is input to the system controller, the image data of the reference image and the image data of the standard image converted by the control of this system controller are differentiated by the image processing means, The difference image is displayed on the image display unit based on the difference result.
If the difference display is performed, it can be used for determination of the therapeutic effect, determination of the degree of progress of the disease, and the like, and it is possible to obtain effective information for image diagnosis.

The image processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention uses the input means to indicate an arbitrary point on the image displayed on the display means. The distances and angles between the plurality of points designated by the input means are calculated by the calculation means. For example, the reference image converted by the standard image and the image processing unit is operated by the image processing unit by operating the input unit to specify the point, and the coordinate position of the point, the distance from the standard point, and the standard plane are calculated. Is displayed on the image display unit, so that observation and comparison between images can be easily performed, and various measurements can be performed on the images.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the feature points extracted by the feature point extracting means of the image processing apparatus are based on the auxiliary tool attached to the subject at the time of imaging or the anatomical feature points of the subject. .

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the attaching means supports the identifying means capable of identifying on the image obtained by photographing or the like, and the identifying means is easily attached to the subject. As a result, by aligning the display of the feature points between the image capturing time or the images captured by different types of image diagnostic devices, it becomes possible to perform the alignment easily and accurately.

In the eighth invention of the present application, the identifying means is replaceable with respect to the mounting means, and is appropriately replaced according to a photographing device for obtaining an image.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the identifying means is a granular body having ceramic or polyvinyl alcohol or a radioisotope reagent as a constituent element so as to correspond to various image diagnostic equipment, and the granular body is held via a holder. It is designed to be supported by the mounting means. That is, by selecting and attaching a identifiable substance on an image projected from a plurality of different substances according to the photographing device, it is possible to easily align the photographed images with a mark material as an identification means. Become.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, since the mounting means is the mouthpiece prepared according to the tooth profile of the subject, the assisting tool can be easily mounted by holding the mouthpiece in the mouth. It is possible to reduce the burden on the sample.

[0035]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention. The image processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is a C for controlling the entire system.
An image storage unit 3 that includes a system controller 1 including a PU, a ROM, and the like, a standard image storage unit 3a, a reference image storage unit 3b, and a projected image storage unit 3c, and stores a plurality of corresponding image data, respectively. , A feature point position detection unit 5a, a coordinate conversion unit 5b, a difference image generation unit 5c, a composite image generation unit 5d, and a measurement processing unit 5e, and a mark detection process, coordinate conversion process, and image conversion process performed by an image processor incorporated therein. An image processing unit 5 as a feature point extracting unit and an image processing unit for performing the above, an image display unit 7 as a displaying unit for displaying and printing an image on a CRT display, a printer, etc., and an image processing using a mouse or a keyboard. Is input, the display position of the image, the position of interest, and the like, and the input unit 9 as an input unit. It is connected.

Further, this image processing apparatus is similarly connected to various image diagnostic equipments 11A, 11B, ... And an image accumulating section 13 capable of outputting the result of projecting a subject as image information. As a result, the image data projected by the various image diagnostic devices 11 is captured and output to the image processing unit 5, the image display unit 7 and the like, and an image formed by an ODD (optical disk) or an HDD (magnetic disk) or the like. These images are stored in the storage unit 13.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an auxiliary tool of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2A shows a mouthpiece type auxiliary tool. This mouthpiece type accessory is
A mark serving as a recognition unit is fixed to the subject by using a mouthpiece 19 serving as a mounting unit formed in conformity with the tooth profile of the subject.

The preparation of the mouthpiece 19 is almost the same as the case of a denture, for example, by first taking the tooth profile of the subject to be imaged and then creating the mouthpiece according to this tooth profile. It is created by forming a concave-convex portion 21 that matches the tooth profile of the subject on the surface that the subject bites.
By thus forming the mouthpiece 19 according to the tooth profile of the subject, the relative positional relationship with the subject is always kept the same simply by mounting the mouthpiece type auxiliary tool on the subject.

The material of the mouthpiece 19 is a material which does not deform even if it is bitten by the subject and does not affect the image capturing by various image diagnostic equipment, for example, metal when the image diagnostic equipment is X-ray CT. Avoid materials such as synthetic resin and ceramics (eg acrylic resin).

The mouthpiece 19 is inverted U so that it follows the tooth profile.
The connector 23 is fixed to the outer surface, and the alignment mark 2 is formed at the tip of the connector 23.
7 is attached. The material of the connector 23 does not deform like the mouthpiece 19 and does not affect the image capturing by various diagnostic devices.

First, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), a concave portion 25 is provided, and a mark 27 shown in FIG. 2 (c) is fixed to the concave portion 25 with an adhesive, and the connector 23 is screwed to the mouthpiece 19
Fixed so that it can be replaced. At this time, only the mark 27 of the recess 25 may be replaceable with a screw or engaging means.

Several kinds of materials for the mark 27 are prepared according to the image diagnostic equipment, and are selected and used according to the photographing. Ceramics etc. for CT imaging, beads made of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) for MRI,
Alternatively, an oil-encapsulated capsule or, in the case of SPECT, an RI (radioisotope) reagent-encapsulated capsule is used. Also, the signal value of the mark 27 should not be the same as the signal value of the mouthpiece 19 and the connector 23 on the projected image. The shapes of the marks 27 created by using them are all the same granular shape (for example, a sphere having a radius of several mm), or when a plurality of marks 27 are provided, the marks 27 have a shape or size that can be identified on the projected image. Or use the material.

The connectors 23 having the marks 27, which are similarly prepared, are attached to the mouthpieces 19 at different positions. As shown in FIG. 3, the mouthpieces 19 are attached to the subject during photographing. . The length of the connector 23 is set such that the mounting position of the mark 27 is located outside the cross section of the head when viewed from the imaging cross section of the head. Further, although attachment of the connector 23 or the like to the mouthpiece 19 is suitable for three positions for alignment and preparation, it may be more than three. FIG. 4 shows a display example of a projection image obtained by mounting the mouthpiece type auxiliary tool shown in FIG. 2 in the state shown in FIG. 3 and performing X-ray photography. Figure 4 (b)
Now, by displaying the mark M3 thinly,
It is shown that 3 exists at the position where the shadow of the head appears. As a result, it is possible to always show three points, and it is possible to perform the alignment more reliably.

Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the alignment of the image obtained by projection with the X-ray CT apparatus in the state where the mouthpiece type auxiliary tool shown in FIG. 2 is used will be described. First, the feature point position detection unit 5a detects the position of the feature point. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 5A, the slice data NO. 1 to NO. Of the data up to K, the image A in which the marks M1 to M3 appear is read from the projection image storage unit 3c of the image storage unit 3 and displayed on the image display unit 7 as an image before alignment. Marks M1 to M3 indicate marks 27 shown in FIG. 2 which are displayed on the photographed image.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the image A
By operating the input unit 9 above, the mark M
The position of 1 is designated, the image processing unit 5 calculates and coordinates (x,
y, n) is calculated. x and y indicate position coordinates on the image A, and m and n indicate serial numbers NO. Indicates. Note that FIG. 5B is an enlarged view of the region E shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5C, the mark M is previously set.
The range of the signal value of 1 is (threshold-low) ≤ (signal value of the mark M1) ≤ (thre
shold-high). Next, the pixels near the specified coordinates and having a value in this range are extracted. The center of gravity of the extracted area is used as the coordinates of the mark M1. By doing so, the mark M1 can be stably provided without being greatly influenced by the operation.
Is calculated. Similarly, the coordinates of the other marks M2 and M3 on the image A are obtained and stored in the reference image storage unit 3a.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5A, the slice data No. 1 to NO. Of the data up to L, the image B in which the marks M1 to M3 appear is read from the projection image storage unit 3c of the image storage unit 3, displayed on the image display unit 7 as an image before alignment, and similarly M
The coordinates of 1 to M3 are obtained.

In this way, when the coordinates of all the marks M1 to M3 on the image A and the image B are obtained, a conversion matrix for matching the coordinate systems of the two images (standard image A and reference image B) is subjected to image processing. It is obtained by the coordinate conversion unit 5b of the unit 5.

The transformation matrix T is obtained by the following equation.

[0050]

## EQU1 ## [xi yi zi 1] T = [Xi Yi
Zi 1]

[Equation 2] (Xi, Yi, Zi): coordinates of the i-th mark in the standard image (xi, yi, zi): coordinates of the i-th mark in the reference image Next, from the obtained transformation matrix T, the reference image is calculated by the following formula. The transformation is performed by matching the coordinates of the with the coordinates of the reference image.

[X yz 1] T = [x'y'z '1] (x, y, z): Coordinates before conversion of the reference image (x', y ', z'): Conversion of the reference image Subsequent coordinates Further, after performing the coordinate exchange of the reference image, the standard image and the reference image after the coordinate exchange are displayed on the image display unit 7, and
It is stored in the reference image storage unit 3b.

6 and 7 are explanatory views showing display examples by the image processing apparatus according to the present invention, and the reference image storage unit 3a.
2 shows an example in which the standard image stored in the reference image and the reference image after the coordinate exchange stored in the reference image storage unit 3b are displayed on the image display unit 7, respectively. FIG. 6A is a display example in which the standard image and the reference image axial image at the same position are simultaneously displayed on the screen. FIG. 6B is a display example in which the standard image and the reference image MPR (cross-section conversion) image at the same position are simultaneously displayed on the screen. In particular, in the left figure, a place where the X-ray transmittance is low, for example, a bone is displayed brightly. In the right figure, the active area of the brain is displayed brightly.

FIG. 7A is a display example in which a three-dimensional surface display image created from a standard image and a reference image is simultaneously displayed on the screen from the same direction. FIG. 7B is a display example in which projection images created from the standard image and the reference image are simultaneously displayed on the screen from the same direction. In any of the display formats, the positions and display directions of the standard image and the reference image can be simultaneously changed by exchanging the coordinates.

With respect to the standard image and the reference image, the input unit 9 is operated to move, for example, a point cursor displayed on the image to indicate a point on any of the images. Replace and display the mark at the same position on the other image. Further, by operating the input unit 9 to specify a point on either the standard image or the reference image, the measurement processing unit 5e of the image processing unit 5 performs the calculation, and the coordinate position of the point and the reference point The distance, the angle from the reference plane, and the like are displayed on the image display unit 7, and various measurement processes can be performed independently or simultaneously. This facilitates comparative observation of the two types of images.

As a display format, it is also possible to display a superimposed image by calculation by the composite image generating section 5d. For example, in FIG. 6A, a standard image and a reference image at the same position may be superimposed and displayed, and in FIG. 6B, a standard image and a reference image MPR image at the same position may be superimposed and displayed. In FIG. 7A, three-dimensional surface display images obtained by projecting the standard image and the reference image from the same direction may be superimposed and displayed. Further, FIG. 7B illustrates the standard image and the reference image. Projected images obtained by projecting the respective images from the same direction may be superimposed and displayed.

Alternatively, as the display format, as shown in the explanatory views of FIGS. 8 and 9, the differential image may be displayed by calculation by the differential image generating section 5c. Specifically, with respect to the standard image displayed on the image display unit 7 and the reference image after the coordinate exchange, by operating the input unit 9 of FIG. 1, a designation signal of the difference processing is input to the system controller 1, The image data of the reference image and the image data of the standard image converted under the control of the system controller 1 are transferred to the image processing unit 5, and the difference image generation unit 5c of the image processing unit 5 calculates the difference between the two image data. The difference image is displayed on the image display unit 7 based on the difference calculation result.

FIG. 8A shows the difference image between the standard image and the reference image at the same position, and FIG. 8B shows the MP image of the standard image and the reference image at the same position.
The difference image between the R images is displayed. That is,
FIG. 8B is an application of the display of FIG. 8A to the display of three orthogonal cross sections. 9A shows a three-dimensional surface display image obtained by projecting the difference image between the standard image and the reference image from the same direction, and FIG. 9B shows the difference image between the standard image and the reference image from the same direction. The projected image is displayed.

Thus, by displaying a difference between two kinds (a plurality of kinds) of images taken by the same subject and the same modality and having different imaging times, it is used for the judgment of the therapeutic effect, the judgment of the degree of progress of the disease, etc. can do. For example, if FIG. 8A shows a tomographic image of the present (left side of the difference symbol) and one month before (right side of the difference symbol), the difference image is the lesion enlarged in the last month. It shows the progress of the. In any of the display formats described above, the positions and display directions of the standard image and the reference image can be simultaneously changed by coordinate exchange. Even in such a case, according to the present embodiment, the images can be matched easily and accurately.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of composite display by superposition by the image processing apparatus according to the present invention. The standard image and the reference image as shown in FIG. 10A are read from the image storage unit 3 shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), for one side, the conversion table provided in the image processing unit 5 sets the luminance of the pixels of the display image for superimposition in a predetermined range according to the pixel value in the predetermined range of the image. The converted image is created as shown in FIG. 10C. On the other hand, similarly, a conversion table provided in the image processing unit 5 converts the color of the display image for superimposition into a shade from red to purple according to the pixel value within a predetermined range of the image. Then, similarly, a converted image is created as shown in FIG.

The image data converted under the control of the system controller 1 is transferred to the image display section 7, and the converted images are superimposed on each other and displayed on the image display section 7 as shown in FIG. 10D. However, the brightness and color can be adjusted freely by operating the input unit 9.

In the explanatory views of FIGS. 2 to 5, the case where the different images are aligned by the mark attached to the assisting tool is shown, but the different images are aligned using the anatomical feature points. You may do it. For example, the anterior floor process (a pair of left and right processes near the Turkish saddle), which is a part of the skull, can be easily located on the CT image. By using the coordinates of the tips of the protrusions for the alignment, it is possible to perform the alignment with high accuracy as in the method using the assisting tool. In addition, as anatomical feature points that can be used for alignment, other than the anterior projection,
Many locations can be selected, such as teeth, chin holes, orbital holes.

In CT imaging, for example, the range of CT values of bone may change depending on the imaging conditions and model.
By attaching a reference substance (such as a plate similar to the bone component) to the mouthpiece and adjusting the image values so that the pixel value and shape of the reference substance are the same, more accurate alignment is possible. Become.

As described above, according to the above embodiments,
It is possible to provide an auxiliary tool for an image processing apparatus that can be mounted on the subject without burdening the subject, and by using a mark or the like attached to such an auxiliary tool, an image taken by a different type of image diagnostic equipment at the time of imaging. It becomes possible to easily and accurately perform alignment between the images, and it becomes possible to perform observation, comparison, and various measurements between these images with a simpler operation.
It is possible to provide an image processing apparatus and an auxiliary tool thereof that can obtain information effective for image diagnosis.

In the above embodiment, the case where the image processing apparatus is applied to a mouthpiece as an auxiliary tool has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and is attached to, for example, an ear hole or a nostril. An object, a hat-shaped wearing body, and a handgrip that is shaped for an individual can be used as an auxiliary tool for the hand.

[0065]

As described above, according to the present invention,
This makes it possible to easily and accurately perform alignment between images taken at different times or a plurality of images obtained by different types of image diagnostic equipment.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of an image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an embodiment of an auxiliary tool used in the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a state of image registration using the assisting tool shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display example of an image obtained by projection in a state where the assisting tool shown in FIG. 2 is used.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining alignment of an image obtained by projecting in a state in which the auxiliary tool shown in FIG. 2 is used.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a display example of a projected image and the like to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a display example of a projected image and the like to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a display example of a difference image by the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a display example of a difference image by the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a processing procedure for forming a composite image by superposition by the image processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 system controller 3 image storage unit 3a standard image storage unit 3b reference image storage unit 3c projected image storage unit 5 image processing unit 5a feature point position detection unit 5b coordinate conversion unit 5c difference image generation unit 5d synthetic image generation unit 5e measurement processing unit 7 Image Display Section 9 Input Section 11 Image Diagnostic Equipment 13 Image Storage Section 19 Mouthpiece 21 Uneven Section 23 Connector 25 Recessed Section 27 Mark

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location G06T 7/00 9163-4C A61B 6/00 350 D 7459-5L G06F 15/70 330 P

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A feature point extracting means for extracting feature points set for the subject from an image of the inputted subject, and a plurality of images based on the feature points extracted by the feature point extracting means. And an image processing unit that performs image processing between the image processing apparatus and the image processing apparatus. 2. The image processing means sets the coordinates in the plurality of images to be the same on the basis of the feature points extracted by the feature point extracting means for each of the input images. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The image processing means combines the plurality of images by superimposing the plurality of images on the basis of the feature points of the plurality of images extracted by the feature point extracting means for each of the input images. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image processing apparatus outputs an image. 4. The image processing means uses, as a difference image, a difference between the plurality of images obtained with reference to the feature points of the plurality of images extracted by the feature point extracting means for each of the input images. It outputs, The claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned.
2. The image processing device according to 2. 5. A display means capable of displaying an input image of a subject and an image output from the image processing means simultaneously or separately, and indicating an arbitrary point on the image displayed on the display means. 4. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: input means for performing the calculation and calculation means for calculating a distance and an angle between a plurality of points designated by the input means. 6. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the feature points are formed by an auxiliary tool attached to the subject at the time of imaging or an anatomical feature point of the subject. 7. An identification means for enabling identification on an image obtained by photographing or the like, and an attachment means for supporting the identification means and easily attaching the identification means to a subject. An auxiliary tool for an image processing device, characterized in that 8. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the identifying means is exchangeably supported with respect to the mounting means, and is appropriately exchanged according to a photographing device for obtaining the image. Auxiliary equipment. 9. The image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the identification means has a granular body containing ceramic, polyvinyl alcohol, or a radioisotope reagent as a constituent element supported by the mounting means via a holding body. Auxiliary equipment. 10. The auxiliary tool of the image processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the mounting means is a mouthpiece created according to the tooth profile of the subject.